Allen has said the majority of people do pay and in cases where they do not, the courts can mandate payment.
But the medical association objected to some provisions, including a new tax on "elective cosmetic medical procedures" and creation of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board that could "mandate payment cuts for physicians".
A government task force is looking into broadening the benefit and mandating payments.
Dodd-Frank mandates payments for whistleblowers whose tips lead to penalties under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Mr. Geithner reiterated the Treasury position that lawyers inside and out of government had agreed that "it would be legally difficult to prevent these contractually mandated payments".
They cite, for example, the method the Obama administration used to circumvent Senate approval (which is explicitly required under Dodd-Frank) for the appointment of the head of the CFPB and the technique of funding the bureau through mandated payments by the Fed.A response by the government could come in August, an initial verdict by the upcoming election.
Scarsdale's mayor, Beverley Sved, said she thought it was premature to worry about the effects of a spending increase, but she also pointed out that, between health care costs and mandated payments into a state pension fund, tax burdens are at "extraordinary" levels.
"We won't flip the switch until a court decision mandates payment," Mr. Miszewski said, "but we're ready for it if it happens".
(A 2003 law, moreover, mandates payment at the price the manufacturers charge, plus a 6percentt cushion). In most states private insurers are held to this same standard.
Mr. Miszewski, of NapsterFreedom, said that the new file-sharing program would be based on voluntary payments but that Topical Networks would work with record companies if a court decision mandated payment for MP3 files.
Evans said a civil citation akin to a parking ticket would be essentially unenforceable, because there is no mechanism — such as an inability to register a vehicle for unpaid parking tickets — mandating payment.
